Release of Council of Europe report: 

The Department of Education and Science and the Language Policy Division of the Council of Europe have jointly published a Language Education Policy Profile for Ireland. The Profile is the result of a process of reflection by the Department on its language education policies, facilitated by a Council of Europe expert group led by Professor Daniel Coste, Emeritus Professor of the École Normale Supérieure Lettres et Sciences Humaines.

Commenting on the report the Minister for Education and Science, Mary Hanafin TD said "I welcome this thorough analysis of the role of languages in education and in Irish society generally. The signposts for future directions outlined in The Language Education Policy Profile will be of great assistance in planning for the future." The Language Education Policy Profile was published simultaneously this week in Strasbourg and in Dublin. It is available of the websites of the Council of Europe (www.coe.int)) and of the Department of Education and Science (www.education.ie). The Profile presents an analysis of the current state of language education in primary and second-level education in Ireland and outlines a range of policy principles and action priorities for the future. The Minister said, "In a changing Ireland, language policy and provision are important factors in promoting social inclusion and cohesion. The Council of Europe expert group recommends that language policy is not just a matter for the education system. It requires more than the initiative and action of one government department."